1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to consumer transactions, and more particularly, to improved payment techniques.
2. Description of the Related Art
Increasingly, consumers demand easier, safer, and more informative ways to pay for goods and services at a point of sale. Notwithstanding mobile device (e.g., smartphones, etc.) omnipresence, consumers generally resort to traditional payment methods such as physical currency, electronic payment cards, and the like. However, these traditional payment methods generally require consumers to carry a physical wallet, maintain an inventory of currency, etc. Additionally, such traditional payment methods raise security concerns, which often require underlying banks to reissue new cards, compensate for stolen money, etc. Stolen payment credentials highlight some of the traditional payment drawbacks, which result in losses of billions of dollars per year in the United States alone.
Recent attempts to address shortcomings of traditional payment methods incorporate payment methods from a mobile device (e.g., an electronic wallet application, etc.). Despite the promise of addressing the shortcoming of traditional payment methods, such attempts have been met with limited success. For example, such mobile device payment methods provide little value over traditional payment methods since they do not significantly reduce transaction time—transactions completed with a mobile phone over near-field communication link require about the same amount of time as transactions completed with a magnetic swipe card. Additionally, typical mobile wallet payments generally only require a user entered PIN, which does not adequately prevent theft, unwanted access, etc.
Accordingly, even recent attempts to address the shortcomings of traditional payment methods do not offer consumers meaningful improvements in providing easier, safer, and more informative ways to pay for goods and services.